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20k is massive for sustained players of an indie online-only game released around 6 years ago. At the time of writing (the quietest period in the week for onli

20k is massive for sustained players of an indie online-only game released around 6 years ago. At the time of writing (the quietest period in the week for online gaming worldwide), it is currently 54th place in terms of people playing on steam right now. None of the 53 games above it require/recommend a dedicated peripheral to play. VR won't hit 1 million simultaneous users in anything until VR displays can render high quality text on a quad (think a screen or piece of paper) and/or provide haptic feedback. VR is still held back by today's technology for the most interesting uses, but is still acceptable enough for a social space to thrive.

vlovich123 4y ago
It’s more about install base and size of marketplace than technical abilities I think. The primary drivers of that is things like the quantity of quality software at an inexpensive price, fit and comfort, and price. For all the excellent advancements made on the technical side, basically the only funding for VR content comes from FB and hobbyists which limits adoption. There’s also secondary things around it not being usable for meaningful productivity (and even when it is, it doesn’t realize the dream of making you more productive). It’s all early days but I think OP is very correct. 20k is comparatively impressive but absolutely shows how limited in scope a “runaway” success looks like. Think of it this way. Traditional console/PC games every year have several AAA titles that sell millions of copies each and have millions of people playing online. Compared with VR where Beat Saber is basically the #1 game for several years. That’s a massive marketplace to sell into with a long track record of winning formula (that’s why gameplay and business modes aren’t innovated on too much). That kind of stuff hasn’t happened for VR yet. Note that I’m not saying it won’t. Also I wouldn’t look at Steam numbers here - Quest, which is the number 1 VR headset in the world, doesn’t make its analytics visible there [1]. VRChat is top 10 but Beat Saber is more popular I think. So the conclusion is that VRChat is the #1 VR game for PCVR which is a comparatively stagnant market and doesn’t speak to the broader ecosystem. [1] https://www.oculus.com/experiences/quest/section/315855462372893/#/?_k=3i0h94 https://www.oculus.com/experiences/quest/section/31585546237...
- spartanatreyu 4y ago
  Just on the point about steam numbers and analytics, according to the August 2022 Steam Hardware Survey, the Oculus Quest 2 and the Oculus Rift S makes up 49.25% and 11.05% of the VR headsets used on Steam respectively.
  - vlovich123 4y ago
    Yes and I think that proves my point. The majority of quest 2 users are not using link. So if it’s half of pcvr, then the stream vr stats are skewed towards “typical” pcvr usage which distorts the true vr story which is dominated by mobile. It’s like looking at laptop software sales and making conclusions about the app market place ignoring that mobile dominates that space too.
vkou 4y ago
What % of VRChat users actually use a VR headset?
- hnuser123456 4y ago
  I'm not entirely sure globally, but out of a few thousands hours of my own experience, somewhere around 85%. Keyboard/mouse users exist but VR users naturally inform them repeatedly that it's completely different and better with VR

vlovich123 4y ago

It’s more about install base and size of marketplace than technical abilities I think. The primary drivers of that is things like the quantity of quality software at an inexpensive price, fit and comfort, and price. For all the excellent advancements made on the technical side, basically the only funding for VR content comes from FB and hobbyists which limits adoption. There’s also secondary things around it not being usable for meaningful productivity (and even when it is, it doesn’t realize the dream of making you more productive). It’s all early days but I think OP is very correct. 20k is comparatively impressive but absolutely shows how limited in scope a “runaway” success looks like. Think of it this way. Traditional console/PC games every year have several AAA titles that sell millions of copies each and have millions of people playing online. Compared with VR where Beat Saber is basically the #1 game for several years. That’s a massive marketplace to sell into with a long track record of winning formula (that’s why gameplay and business modes aren’t innovated on too much). That kind of stuff hasn’t happened for VR yet. Note that I’m not saying it won’t. Also I wouldn’t look at Steam numbers here - Quest, which is the number 1 VR headset in the world, doesn’t make its analytics visible there [1]. VRChat is top 10 but Beat Saber is more popular I think. So the conclusion is that VRChat is the #1 VR game for PCVR which is a comparatively stagnant market and doesn’t speak to the broader ecosystem. [1] https://www.oculus.com/experiences/quest/section/315855462372893/#/?_k=3i0h94 https://www.oculus.com/experiences/quest/section/31585546237...

spartanatreyu 4y ago
Just on the point about steam numbers and analytics, according to the August 2022 Steam Hardware Survey, the Oculus Quest 2 and the Oculus Rift S makes up 49.25% and 11.05% of the VR headsets used on Steam respectively.
- vlovich123 4y ago
  Yes and I think that proves my point. The majority of quest 2 users are not using link. So if it’s half of pcvr, then the stream vr stats are skewed towards “typical” pcvr usage which distorts the true vr story which is dominated by mobile. It’s like looking at laptop software sales and making conclusions about the app market place ignoring that mobile dominates that space too.

vkou 4y ago

What % of VRChat users actually use a VR headset?

hnuser123456 4y ago
I'm not entirely sure globally, but out of a few thousands hours of my own experience, somewhere around 85%. Keyboard/mouse users exist but VR users naturally inform them repeatedly that it's completely different and better with VR